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The House in Harrison
At the top of the hill
Overlooking the mill,
Where the graves number three,
'Neath the shade of a tree,
Stands the House in Harrison.
Here, wrapped in satin and laces,
With smiles on their faces,
Three young souls were sold
For silver and gold
Here in the House in Harrison.
They drank brandy and beer
For more than a year
And were condemned in the light
By men who visited at night
The notorious House in Harrison.
But a man of no shame
Ordered an end to the game;
And one night in July
They were sentenced to die
Here in the House in Harrison.
That night, it is said
The moon turned blood-red
And all who were inside
Either vanished or died
Here in the House in Harrision.
On a cold, December night
By the pale moonlight,
The window shutters creek
And the chimney does shriek
Here in the House in Harrison.
And the banshees' scream
Will enter the dreams,
Of any who dare,
To enter in there.
This is the House in Harrision.
From Michael's First Book of Poems
Fishing With the Devil
Harvey twisted the handle and the big Mercury outboard motor responded with a low rumble. The sixteen-foot fishing boat cut a sharp vee in the water as it sped across the lake. He was fishing for big game and here the Mackinaw trout were by far the biggest fish in the lake. This was the biggest fishing derby in North Idaho. It would be a great chance for him to turn his luck around.
Harvey kept checking his Wilderness Special Geographic Positioning System and adjusting his course as he headed for his secret hot spot on the lake.
"What the hell!" Harvey turned the boat sharply starboard and cut the motor. The wake from his boat splashed over a small wooden boat just in front of him. "Hey, watch where you're going," Harvey shouted.
The man in the small wooden boat didn't even look up. He just sat there like a statue cast in bronze. In fact the motley color of his jacket was that of weathered metal. The black broad-brim hat shaded his eyes from the afternoon sun. Harvey checked his geographic positioning system then dropped the anchor. This derelict of the lake had beat him to his favorite fishing spot.
Harvey smirked at the metal pole and the large awkward reel. He had no idea just how old the equipment was but it predated his twenty years of fishing. Harvey was sure of that. "Any luck?"
The hat raised a little. Still, in the shadow of the brim two cold black eyes opened wide then slowly closed to just slits beneath thick eyebrows. "I don't need luck. The greedy ones will always bite, even on a hot day like today."
"I just bet you're in the fishing derby. You might as well go home now, for I am going to win." Harvey opened his fishing box. The array of brightly colored spinners, plugs and wobblers sparkled even in the dull sunlight. For a few minutes he studied the seven trays, then he selected just the right lure for a dark day like today. With a grin he snapped a silver and blue spinner to the end of the line on the eight-foot titanium rod. "This here is my trout killer. The rainbow just can't resist it."
"The greedy ones will always bite," the old man replied. His eyes met Harvey's and with a smile he asked, "Want to make a little side bet just between me and you?"
"Now you're talking. Five Dollars says I catch the next fish," Harvey replied.
With a long deliberate motion Harvey cast his lure out away from the two boats. It entered the water almost without a splash. He let it sink deep before he slowly began to reel. The line tightened. It pulled to the left then back to the right. Harvey gave the fish some slack and the reel spun. The fish was going deep. Carefully Harvey applied pressure and the reel spun slower. The spinning finally came to a halt. Harvey began to reel in the line a little slower than before. He spotted the fish when it surfaced between the two boats.
"What! How did you do that?" Harvey complained.
The fish, a ten-inch rainbow was twisted in both their lines. The two boats pulled closer together as they tried to untanble their lines.
"He's mine," Harvey proclaimed as he unhooked his trout-killer spinner from the side of the fish's mouth.
"Check again," the old man said. "You'll find my bait deep in his gullet."
Harvey handed the fish, with the old blue fishing line still in its mouth, to the man in the wooden boat. "Here. Take him. He's not even a four-pounder. I'm out to win the derby and this fish is too small."
Harvey changed his trout-killer spinner for an even larger tri-colored wobblen and this time cast off toward the shore away from the other boat. The old man in the wooden boat carefully removed his hook and salvaged what he could of the bait. The fish he put in a bucket of water at the bow. He cast his line just enought so the splash didn't hit his boat. "You owe me five dollars."
"Double our bet on the next fish caught?" Harvey replied.
The old man nodded his head in agreement. A few minutes later he caught another fish. It was not any bigger than the first. Harvey shook his head and said, "Double the bet on the next fish caught."
The afternoon passed slowly. Harvey caught three but kept only the largest, a twenty-pound Mackinaw Trout. The biggest fish the old man caught was a three-pound Rainbow. And he kept all six of the fishes he caught. With each catch the bet was doubled. The old man smiled for he had caught the last two fishes. He started to put away his fishing tackle then he paused and said, "Mister, you owe me twelve-hundred and eighty dollars."
"What? You're crazy. It was just a five-dollar bet."
"Between the two of us we caught nine fish. Now when I double five dollars nine times that's what I get."
"Never was that good at math," Harvey admitted, after scratching his head. "Say how would you like to win the derby? All you need is the biggest fish caught today."
"Oh yes." A smile appeared beneath the black brim of the hat. "I would love to win, but none of my fish could do that."
"But this little Mackinaw could."
"Well, I can see I won't get my money and I can't win with that fish. I didn't catch it."
"Relax. To win is the same as to catch. Now look closely for I got the answer right here. I call it my Majestic-lure." Harvey picked up a purple and gold spinner. It was almost bigger than his hand. With a swift motion he snapped the lure on his line and prepared to cast.
The old man pushed back the brim of his hat. His clear dark eyes studied the purple and gold.
Harvey grinned. "Here is the deal. We both try one more time. We fish for just five minutes more. If you catch a bigger fish than I, you win. I will give you your money. But if I catch the bigger fish, you also win for I'll let you have my twenty-pound Mac. But you must enter it in the derby and tell everyone that you caught it. Is that a deal?"
The old man quickly put a new piece of bait on his hook.
Harvey sent his Majestic-lure far and deep into the lake. In less than a minute he reeled in the twin brother of the big trout he had caught earlier. With the two fish in his boat he watched and waited. Three minutes pass, then four. Harvey smiled and pulled his boat a little closer to the old wooden one. With just thirty seconds to go, the old man hooked a fish.
"You must land it or it doesn't count," Harvey told him.
The old man fought to bring in the line, but the fish went deep. It almost pulled the reel from his hand.
"I'd better cut your line before it breaks your pole," Harvey advised. He moved just a bit closer and took out a knife with a six-inch blade from his tackle box. Just then the fish broke to the surface, spun twice in the air and to Harvey's surprise landed in the wooden boat. The old man managed to put his boot on the fist to keep it from jumping overboard.
Harvey checked his watch. "You just made it but is that fish bigger than mine?"
The old man slowly stood up in his boat and proudly lifted his fish in th eair. Harvey did the same with his catch. The two fish looked about the same size.
"I'll just keep this one," the old man said.
"But I got two," Harvey yelled. "Two for one trade. And remember our bet." He reached down for the second fish and lifted both of them high in the air.
With a broad smile Harvey leaned back and held his fish just a little higher in the air. "Think about it. You can have both of them weighed and enter the bigger one in the contest. I promise I won't enter your fish in the contest. That way you are sure to win."
Harvey leaned forward just a little. The boat shifted in the water, Harvey lost his balance. First he leaned too far forward then when he tried to correct he fell backwards into the lake. The two fish swam quickly away and Harvey foolishly tried to climb back in his boat at the side. The old man watched and shook his slowly.
Later that night while the old man was being praised for his near-record fish, Harvey walked over to the pay phone in the parking lot. He dialed 1-800-666 and began to explain his problem.
"Don't you believe it? I tell you either of my fish would have won. They were both bigger than his. - No. I am not making excuses. - Yes, I let him catch more fish than I did. He had me for more than twelve hundred dollars. - I made him a proposition just like it says in The Right Way to Do Wrong. If he hadn't caught that last fish he would have taken my fish and entered that in the contest. I had him. If he started lying about fishing the rest would be easy. - Don't make me come back down there. Give me one more try? - Yes, I promise better results. - No, that's not all. I need a bigger expense account. - My boat is at the bottom of the lake, it will take five hundred dollars to pull it out. - Yes, I know how hot it is down there. Just let me spend one more summer in Idaho.
From Michael's Book Two of Short Stories
Updated: March 25, 2008
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